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New mix of Paul Read's "Ballad for Mr. G"

A few weeks ago Paul Read posted a JABB demo of his flugelhorn feature "Ballad for Mr. G." It was such a fine chart that I asked Paul for permission to try my hand at doing a little additional work on the piece. Paul graciously supplied me with the midi data and score, so I spend some time over the last couple of weeks, between other work(!), re-editing the MIDI data and re-mixing. I applied the programming features in JABB in more detail and also used the mixing tools in Sonar5. I used separate impulses for each section (saxes, trumpets, trombones, rhythm) in Sound Forge. Finally, I mastered the mix in T-Racks.

Re: New mix of Paul Read's "Ballad for Mr. G"

Really GREAT, TOM. You captured all of what I wanted to hear from this jazz ballad and some more. From your write-up seems it takes quite a bit of outside tweaking to make JABB sound so real, but hey, it's worth it.

Paul: A really great composition. The changes are marvelous and the chart is well orchestrated with just the right instruments.......just in the right place.

Re: New mix of Paul Read's "Ballad for Mr. G"

Originally Posted by Rhap2

From your write-up seems it takes quite a bit of outside tweaking to make JABB sound so real, but hey, it's worth it.

Understanding jazz performance techniques and the application of inflection (unique to each instrument and applied one-by-one to each instrument) are among the keys to improving the realism of JABB. Exercising the mixing tools available in almost all major sequencers can extend the library's capabilities - look at DPDan's work with GPO to see how significant this can be.

At this stage in sampling development the best I can do is supply a palette of tools to give the user the ability to "sculpt" various aspects of the sound and create tutorials that illustrate their function. The user must supply the expertise on just how the sounds should be sculpted. Translation: Intimate knowledge of the idiom is essential or you won't know what to edit, where to edit, or how much to edit. JABB is more demanding that way than GPO because the range of idiomatic playing techniques is far more varied and specific in jazz. Without the user taking charge of the responsibility to make the "players" do what they are supposed to do, JABB is just another set of samples. But, . . . when the programming tools are used as designed the results are elevated to another level. The future of scripting, convolution, and other advanced features will eventually ease the editing burden but knowledge will always be a strong prerequisite for this library. It just comes with the territory.

Tom

P.S. Thanks, Jack and everyone for your comments. Paul deserves the bulk of the credit because the writing is the most important part and he nailed that step. He also skillfully handled the bulk of the MIDI entry before I got my hands on it. I was just shining shoes.

Re: New mix of Paul Read's "Ballad for Mr. G"

Originally Posted by Tom Hopkins

Understanding jazz performance techniques and the application of inflection (unique to each instrument and applied one-by-one to each instrument) are among the keys to improving the realism of JABB. Exercising the mixing tools available in almost all major sequencers can extend the library's capabilities - look at DPDan's work with GPO to see how significant this can be.

At this stage in sampling development the best I can do is supply a palette of tools to give the user the ability to "sculpt" various aspects of the sound and create tutorials that illustrate their function. The user must supply the expertise on just how the sounds should be sculpted. Translation: Intimate knowledge of the idiom is essential or you won't know what to edit, where to edit, or how much to edit. JABB is more demanding that way than GPO because the range of idiomatic playing techniques is far more varied and specific in jazz. Without the user taking charge of the responsibility to make the "players" do what they are supposed to do, JABB is just another set of samples. But, . . . when the programming tools are used as designed the results are elevated to another level. The future of scripting, convolution, and other advanced features will eventually ease the editing burden but knowledge will always be a strong prerequisite for this library. It just comes with the territory.

Tom

Maybe you've identified a cottage industry for folks that want to take others compositions, and, for a fee, will convert a "vanilla" jazz MIDI file into the work of art that you posted. It would be great for people who don't have access to a "real" big jazz band but would like to hear their work rendered as realistically as possible, but don't have the time to do a lot of tweaking.

Re: New mix of Paul Read's "Ballad for Mr. G"

Guess what we're having for dinner tonight? Along with some candles and a little wine, some lightly sautéed scallops on a bed of young greens, and this beautiful music, perhaps over and over again. You’re all invited.

Re: New mix of Paul Read's "Ballad for Mr. G"

Originally Posted by KeithW

Maybe you've identified a cottage industry for folks that want to take others compositions, and, for a fee, will convert a "vanilla" jazz MIDI file into the work of art that you posted. It would be great for people who don't have access to a "real" big jazz band but would like to hear their work rendered as realistically as possible, but don't have the time to do a lot of tweaking.

Great work, Tom!

Keith Walls

Keith,

That's not a bad idea. I think Tom is busy for the next decade, but there are other talented people here who can polish MIDI files into works of art (e.g. DPDan ). This would help those who brought their music as far as they can and it would help the tweakers too!